Blackburn mosque cancels Rice invitation

Muslim leaders yesterday withdrew an invitation to the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, to visit a mosque in the Blackburn constituency of the home secretary, Jack Straw.

Ms Rice was due to go to the Masjid al- Hidayah mosque tomorrow during her two-day tour of Blackburn and Liverpool as a guest of Mr Straw.

"The invitation to Ms Rice to visit the mosque came, as I understand it, from officials in Jack Straw's office," said Hamid Qureshi, chairman of the Blackburn-based Lancashire Council of Mosques. "They might not have consulted with the congregation and members were very angry and decided she should not come."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "It's a pity we will not be visiting a mosque. Everything on this visit is being done with respect to the communities involved."

Yesterday about 40 parents and protesters gathered outside Blackburn's Pleckgate high school, which Ms Rice and Mr Straw are due to visit today.

"We decided we should see the headteacher [Robin Campbell] and ask him to cancel the visit because we were not happy that we were not consulted at the outset," said Hanif Dudhwala, a representative of the school's community leaders' forum. "But Mr Campbell said the visit would go ahead. So we will be asking our children to join the protest by the Stop the War Coalition at the school."

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